Gun instructor uses AR-15 to stop attacker in Oswego: 'He was a half a breath away from getting his head blown off '

Dave Thomas, 41, a National Rifle Association instructor talks about his decision to use his AR-15 as a scare tactic to stop a stabbing Feb. 27, 2018, in Oswego. The stabbing occurred the day prior. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Dave Thomas, 41, a National Rifle Association instructor talks about his decision to use his AR-15 as a scare tactic to stop a stabbing Feb. 27, 2018, in Oswego. The stabbing occurred the day prior. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Dave Thomas was getting ready for work Monday afternoon when he heard women screaming in his apartment building in Oswego.

Thomas, a gun instructor, peeked out the door and saw blood in the hallway. He went to his bedroom, where a handgun and an AR-15 assault-style rifle were lying on the bed. He picked up the rifle.

"I teach people how to defend themselves, and it was just a reaction to grab the AR-15," he said.

Police said Thomas confronted a man who was stabbing another man in the apartment complex on the 100 block of Harbor Drive. The man with the knife ran off when Thomas threatened to shoot him.

“He was a half a breath away from getting his head blown off and he knew that," Thomas, 41, said. "That's why he put the knife down."

Kendall County sheriff's deputies arrived about 5 p.m. and arrested two people, the man suspected of stabbing his neighbor and a woman with him. The neighbor was treated and released from Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora, according to the sheriff's office.

Jacob Currey, 22, who lives in the building, was charged with aggravated battery and mob action. The same charges were filed against Alyssa Wright, 19, of Naperville. Both had a bond hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

A 27-year-old woman who lives in the building said she had ordered pizza and went outside to meet the delivery driver when Currey started to fight with her. That escalated into him stabbing her husband inside the building. The knife also nicked her leg, she said.

The woman said she is nine months pregnant and was already on bed rest. "He told me he was gonna kill my baby — while his hand was covered in my husband's blood," she said.

A sheriff's spokesman, Detective Bryan Harl, credited Thomas with preventing the situation from getting worse, and said the investigation showed he'd done nothing criminal. "He did in the moment what he thought was going to de-escalate this situation and stop any further violence or loss of life and for that he is to be praised," Harl said.

Thomas has a valid firearm owner's identification card and a concealed carry permit, the sheriff's office said. Thomas said he used to train with police. His current job includes teaching concealed carry classes, and he also works private security. He has lived in Oswego since 2004.

Thomas believes if he'd grabbed the smaller gun, the threat would have been less effective and he would have ended up shooting the man.

"I think this is a perfect example of why... every single law-abiding citizen should have an AR-15," Thomas said, adding that they should have proper training.